Compilation shows many qualities of Os Mutantes
By Daniel Oliveira
Daily Forty-Niner
Pioneer-pop music, way ahead of its time,
can be found on the compilation "The Best of Os Mutantes," from the defunct
Brazilian band Os Mutantes.
Mixing pop with rock, folk, samba and bossa
nova, Os Mutantes formed in 1966 and disbanded in 1978, after recording
albums that influenced rock bands like L7, Nirvana and Faith No More.
The songs from "The Best of Os Mutantes"
were recorded between 1968 and 1972, but they are as modern and relevant
as anything pop bands play today.
The sound quality is so powerful that the
listener may think that the music was recorded recently in a state-of-the-art
studio.
Rita Lee, Arnaldo Baptista and Sergio Dias
showed their high-skilled musicianship on 14 catchy and memorable songs.
From the dark "Dia 36," passing through the humorous "Cantor De Mambo"
to the melodic "Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour," the trio provides many emotions
within its soft, pleasant and experimental music.
Perhaps to conquer people from different
nations, Os Mutantes sang in English, French and Spanish. Their lyrics
deal mostly with personal issues, including rebellion ("Fuga N. 11"), love
("Desculpe, Babe") and ambition ("Cantor de Mambo").
Former Talking Heads lead singer David
Byrne, who released the compilation on his record company, Luaka Bop, calls
Os Mutantes "a creature that was too strange and beautiful to live for
very long but too strong to ever fade away."
He definitely has a point. |
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